Hikari had found Kage and was teasing him with a random feather, so things were going okay for now. The insanity probably wouldn't start until they met up with Cole and Liam.
Somewhere out there, Korū was questioning Kage's decision to follow Hikari.
Cayne just chilled a distance away from Hikari, getting weird looks from pack members who were passing by.
Linda and Alina went to see Alpha Harry to let him know that they arrived safely. On the way, however, they bumped into John. "Linda! Hi, Alina." He rushed over, his arms going around Linda's waist as he breathed in her scent.
Alina chuckled at the sight of the two together. "Linda, I'll go to Harry on my own and then get packs for all of us."
As she left, John lifted his head from Linda's neck, nudging her nose with his. "I was worried, you know, after I heard of the attack."
Linda held him tighter. She whispered back, "I'm fine. We all are. See? The four of us made it back alive, and even came back with another two cats and a stray wolf."
This caused John to laugh. "What made him want to come?"
"How would I know? Cayne's weird."
The hug loosened, and John leaned back slightly to look at his mate properly. The Alpha of Night Stalker had informed Harry that almost everyone was at least a little hurt, and John wanted to see for himself that Linda was okay.
His thumb went to trace a little white line on her arm that wasn't there before. "Is there anywhere else?"
Linda gave him a small smile. "No."
"Good. I love you. Remember to tell me before you leave again."
"I love you too. Of course I will."
Korū finally returned, settling beside Hikari, who was happy that her brother wasn't pissed enough to avoid her. He felt Cayne's gaze on him but, for some reason, didn't turn around to yell at him.
Meanwhile, Alina went up to the Alpha's office. "Come in." Came the response when she knocked.
"Alpha." She greeted him.
He sighed. "Alina. You really worried everyone."
"Everyone as in Linda?"
Alpha Harry laughed. "Maybe, but don't ever do that again."
She nodded. "Sorry."
Alpha Harry gave her a small smile. "Go see your parents, then grab some bags from inventory. I heard you'll have some uninvited guests on the other side."
"The Moonlight Alpha is pretty dumb."
"No comment, Alina. No comment." Harry said, shaking his head, his eyes sparkling with humour. The lines on his face told another story.
Korū just lay down on the grass in the middle of nowhere and closed his eyes. Hikari watched him out of the corner of her eye as Kage batted at the feather.
Alina passed them by as she headed to the pack storeroom where they kept a good supply of standard packs to last people for different amounts of time. She grabbed five week packs and hailed a pack member to help her carry them.
The two of them dumped the bags beside Cayne, who was sitting by a tree.
She grabbed one pack and tied a red ribbon which she somehow had to the handle for identification, and started stuffing the belongings in her emergency pack into the black backpack.
"Oh, wow, I forgot that I kept a can of Milo powder in my emergency pack. Hmm." She said, transferring that too. She earned a head shake from Cayne, who was watching her.
"Get familiar with the bag, Cayne." He grunted, then reaches out to grab one and started to explore its contents.
Hikari rummaged through the bags, looking kinda annoyed to find that it only had one knife strapped to the side.
Korū just lay there, unmoving.
"These packs are mainly for inner world travelling, where we can shift anytime without getting scared that anyone would see. We have a weapon room though." Alina said, sensing Hikari's disgust.
"D'ya have guns?" Hikari asked hopefully.
"Yes, but they're heavily regulated." Alina said, standing up. "Come on. Anyone else needs weapons?"
Cayne shook his head. "Don't use them."
"You'll be at a disadvantage, you know." Alina told him. "You should learn how to fight outside your present comfort zone."
Korū finally opened his eyes. Grabbing the backpack, he stood up.
Hikari huffed. "The word 'weapon' is effective on you huh?"
"You should know."
Alina snickered. "Maybe try finding Linda." She told Cayne. "We'll meet you later."
She led the twins to the weapon room that she had discovered through Linda before she had left for Night Stalker. They didn't use to have one, but Bethany had insisted. She was somewhat obsessed with weapons, but she had her reasons. For example, one couldn't shift in front of people, which is a danger when we had to go to Earth. Traditionally, shifters didn't carry weapons because they were easy to lose and could end up in enemy hands easily, which could be very dangerous, especially if you carry a gun.
With weapons, however, they could become long ranged, which was helpful when the non-flyers had to go after the winged ones.
Short ranged weapons also had their purpose, so Bloodlust gradually integrated weapons into their skillset.
They reached large metal doors. Alina turned and winked at the twins. She punched in a code, and the doors slid open smoothly.
The room had a very professional white and grey scheme, with rows upon rows of blades and other weapons, sorted based on type and place of origin, uses, and model.
On the opposite end of the room, was another set of metal doors. She jabbed her thumb in their direction.
"Guns and more modern weapons are through there. We'll need the Alpha's permission to enter or use them, especially since they are technically pack property. For those out here, there's also a limit to the number you can take for free." She lowered her volume and muttered. "I'm pretty sure we had some grenades. Those would be fun."
Korū seemed to brighten up slightly at the word 'grenades', though he didn't ask about them because there wasn't going to be anyone using a grenade on a flying enemy. "Open those doors before my sister breaks them down she wants a rifle." His eyes scanned the array of weapons, settling on a bow and arrows and a longsword.